The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for preparing raw textile fiber stock for wet processing and particularly to such apparatus and methods for compressing fiber stock into a suitable "cake" in a perforated dyeing cylinder for dyeing or other conventional wet processing operations.
The dyeing or other wet processing of raw staple fiber stock may conventionally be accomplished in one of two manners. First, a predetermined quantity of fiber stock may simply be wetted and loaded into a suitable kier or other dyeing vessel following which the dyeing vessel is closed and operated in ordinary manner to circulate dyeing liquor downwardly through the fiber stock. This dyeing procedure has not proved wholly satisfactory because of a tendency of the fiber stock to pack downwardly in the vessel and to form an impenetrable plug in the bottom thereof. Further, considerable machine down time is experienced with this procedure in the loading and unloading of the vessel. In recent years, an alternative procedure for the dyeing of raw fiber stock in a conventional radial flow dyeing machine has become more popular. According to this procedure, raw fiber stock is initially loaded into the dyeing cylinder or basket of such a radial flow machine and then compressed in the basket into a "cake", following which the dyeing cylinder is placed in the machine for ordinary dyeing operation thereof. This procedure provides distinct advantages in that such radial flow machines are less costly and are generally capable of handling greater loads than comparable kier-type machines and, since the fiber compression process can be accomplished independently, machine down time is required only for the exchange of preloaded dyeing cylinders. However, a principal disadvantage also exists with this procedure in that the conventional equipment available for performing the fiber cake formation are relatively large and complicated hydraulic presses, such as that manufactured by Autsburger Textilmaschinenfabrik GMBH, Augsberg, West Germany, under the model designation Autefa and this equipment is costly, occupies considerable space, and presents substantial maintenance requirements and problems in the hot and humid environment typical of textile dyehouses.
In contrast, the present invention provides an easily-operated, inexpensive, space-saving and low maintenance apparatus and method for appropriately compressing raw fiber stock into suitable fiber cakes in dyeing cylinders using pressurized water to generate the required compressive forces.